Sep 1, 2009

Beaches residents encouraged to shop localBy Maggie FitzroyJacksonville.com

Marsha Wright likes to eat at Nineteen, a restaurant in the TPC Sawgrass Clubhouse that draws golfers and visitors from around the world.

The restaurant that overlooks the TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course, where The Players Championship is held every May, is open to the public and near Wright’s Ponte Vedra Beach home.

She often heads there with friends and family, she said Friday as she enjoyed a lunch buffet.

“We love the food and the service,” she said. “This is my birthday, so it’s a special lunch.”

Friday was also a special day in Ponte Vedra Beach and around the Beaches.

It was “Shop Ponte Vedra and the Beaches Day,” as declared by the St. Johns County commissioners in a recent proclamation.

Wright was doing what business owners throughout the Beaches were hoping many local residents would do. As the proclamation says, she was “choosing to support locally owned businesses” and helping “maintain the area’s diversity and distinctive flavor while protecting its prosperity.”

The Ponte Vedra Beach Chamber of Commerce launched the local economic stimulus to combat effects of the nationwide recession, which chamber members say is impacting all types of area businesses, including retail shops, restaurants and services.

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